Fujifilm HOP - How To Look After Our Mental Health as a Photographer

This event is no longer running

Do you need some help identifying your ‘why’ as a photographer? In this photography seminar, mentor Emily will talk about how you can maintain your well-being in an overwhelming industry like photography with a variety of mental health tips and guidance.

With: Emily Renier
Duration: 1 hour
Date: 5/7/24
Time: 17:00–18:00
Location: FUJIFILM House of Photography
Perfect for: Anyone who needs advice on how to match their personal life with a photography career.

The agenda

This session will cover a few essential topics to consider, especially when working in the wedding and family documentary photography business like Emily. You will be looking at:

Increasing awareness of our own photographic & emotional needs: so we can identify and develop a “why” that not only answers those needs but also helps us make sound long term business decisions
Keeping us mentally healthy: to avoid burnout, particularly in the summer months
Building your working environment: to forge meaningful relationships with those around us and contribute to the growth of a kinder photographic community
Refining our approach to social media: so we can keep on top of that everyday “noise” that can be so distracting and unhelpful
Developing our eye through printed images: to keep growing as an artist and keep challenging ourselves for our clients
Challenging rules and definitions: here we try to understand vague terms like "documentary" or "authenticity", and how these two terms need to be used as a guidance to us, rather than a hindrance.

What you will learn

How to match your own personal needs with those of your career.

Working in the photography industry can be incredibly overwhelming, regardless of where you are in your journey. In this talk, together, we will explore why finding our “why” is so important in maintaining our well-being as well as keeping our careers sustainable in the long term. We will also explore how finding meaning in what we do is also key to our mental health.

How to develop and maintain a support structure in an industry that can be emotionally overwhelming

We will talk about making the most of our community and discuss the importance of making genuine connections with those around us. Whether you are starting out or have decades of experience, we all need to have people in our lives who nurture, inspire and challenge us in equal measures. How do we create such a working environment for ourselves?

How to use definitions as guidance rather than hindrance

Finally, we will think about what “ documentary photography” means for each of us and why, whilst definitions can be helpful, they should never stop us from fulfilling our potential both as photographers but also as business owners. What does the term "authenticity" really mean to us?

Meet your mentor

Emily is one of our official Fujifilm Ambassadors. She’s a renowned wedding and family photographer who infuses her passion for street and documentary photography into her work. She picked up her first Fujifilm camera in 2018 and has since very rapidly developed a successful business in wedding and family photography.

Although Emily's authentic style is rooted in capturing candid moments, she also values flexibility, drawing inspiration from numerous photographic genres and the individuality of her clients. While her camera preserves these fleeting moments, Emily's perspective is emotional and personal, bridging the space between her lens and her subjects artistically and empathetically.

While the excitement of wedding photography continues to ignite Emily's passion, documenting family life over time is as profoundly rewarding for her. She's honoured to have been commissioned for year-long family projects, resulting in what she believes is some of her strongest work.